Metering is the periodic measurement of a parameter at multiple locations. For example, utility companies meter the natural gas, electricity and water consumed by households.
The collection of data from a metering system can be performed by physical inspection of individual meters. For example, in residential areas, electrical utility companies use electromechanical meters with rotating disks to measure the consumption of electricity. Electrical utility companies send a “meter reader” to record the meter measurement about once a month. Metering of natural gas and water is handled similarly.
Alternatively, a metering system can have multiple telemetry devices for transmitting meter data from multiple locations to multiple collection devices, there being fewer collection devices than telemetry devices. Transmissions from an individual telemetry device to a collection device can be used to collect meter data, rather than a physical inspection of the individual telemetry device. The multiple collection devices can transmit data based on the transmissions received from multiple telemetry devices to a central monitoring station. The collection devices can be positioned such that transmissions from a single telemetry device can be received by more than one collection device.